<p>Louis Menand, noted writer and academic, asks us to reflect on meritocracy, the hyper-competitiveness of US higher education, and if that isn’t enough, what exactly is it that we want from a college education.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.newyorker.com/talk/comment/2007/05/21/070521taco_talk_menand[/url]”>The Graduates | The New Yorker;
<p>A very entertaining and thought-provoking piece! It’s short, too (in “The Talk of the Town” section) - I hope lots of folks read it.</p>
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This little tidbit astounded me.</p>
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<p>So did this tidbit.</p>
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<p>Interesting outlook.</p>
<p>I liked this factoid:</p>
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<p>This is something that Carolyn is often reminding us, in an effort to dial down the hype and hysteria.</p>
<p>I bet some people on this board could name a thousand colleges in the U.S.!</p>
<p>After spending a year or so on CC, I’m good for maybe 200-250.</p>
<p>But I’m shocked that there are so few English majors. Could that figure be corrrect?</p>
<p>There are more jobs in Parks, Leisure, and Fitness than foreign languages. Think about it.</p>
<p>but wouldn’t having knowledge of a foreign language be an asset to many jobs?</p>
<p>Yes, but one doesn’t have to major in a foreign language to have a working knowledge of it.</p>
<p>true…</p>
<p>I consider the career options between Parks, Leisure, & Recreation vs. Foreign Languages. Think about it.</p>
<p>I have. Just knowing a foregn language–unless it’s Arabic–and $1.50 will get you a cup of coffee. At least there are significant professional tracks in parks mgt, working in the leisure industry (cruises, theme parks, and the fitness industry. All employ many thousands in professional level jobs. What does a Spanish major from the University of Kansas do? Probably start in some entry level retail or bank training program if they are lucky. Or go to graduate school.</p>
<p>Actual answer here–I was not far off and this is a top school</p>
<p><a href=“http://career.berkeley.edu/Major/SpanPort.stm[/url]”>http://career.berkeley.edu/Major/SpanPort.stm</a></p>
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<li><p>The chairman of my firm was a Spanish major in college. So was my sister. Both of them are enormously successful (but not in anything having to do with Spanish language or literature). They are lovely people, too.</p></li>
<li><p>I think I am correct on this: The first Jew to receive tenure at Yale, other than in a professional school, was Isidore Dyen. He was an ethnolinguist. As a graduate student in the mid-30s, he began to study various language groups in Micronesia and elsewhere in the South Pacific. Sometime around 1940 someone noticed that some of those languages just might have a bit of strategic value. That turned out to be true. He apparently had a pretty good war, and Mother Yale showed its gratitude afterwards. (NB: The first Jew to get tenure at Yale College was around and chatting with students well into the 1980s. Sometimes we forget how quickly the world has changed.)</p></li>
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<p>I thought college was stressful too–until I had two small children, a husband, a mortgage, thirteen clients and my own business. Then I thought college was a VACATION.</p>
<p>Also, he’s narrowed the categories a bit to prove his point. While only 2% of students are studying history, I’ll bet the numbers studying Intl Relations are closer to 10%. Students studying some form of history may be closer to 15%.</p>
<p>I was most saddened that half don’t finish. I wonder how many of those are Parks majors? </p>
<p>FWIW, I wanted both of my sons to take on intellectual pursuits as undergrads and leave business training for graduate school if they want it. What I’ve seen among my peers and my parent’s peers is that few business workers are able to develop an intellectual life outside of business. They are too busy with the demands of the business and family. This is especially true of those who studied business in college–my father and FIL. In my observation. It’s less true of those who studied arts and law.</p>
<p>If my sons didn’t study history and literature in university, they would go forward into the world with their 18 year old understanding of human existence. As well-educated and well-travelled as they were/are at 18, that understanding was wobbly, simplistic–and self-centered. </p>
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My son started taking grad level classes in sophomore year. This year he took an amazing course with a famously brilliant but notoriously tough-grading professor. There were six students in the class–my son and five grad students. No other juniors or seniors would risk the ‘C’ on their GPA–(the predicted grade given on studentreview.com). That class was one of the highlights of my son’s intellectual life but at the end, after he turned in his only paper in a one paper/no test class, he began to feel slightly ill about the effect of a presumed ‘C’ on his GPA. We told him to forget the GPA, his learning was far more important. There will be a grad school somwhere for him. (He was awarded a ‘B’ and was out of his mind thrilled).</p>
<p>Yes JHS, they probably could have majored in Leisure Studies too. Everyone can find the exception that proves nothing. The Chairman of the biggest company in my city never graduated from college. I just don’t find the stat about more leisure majors than language majors very meaningful.</p>
<p>“Humility is good. There is not enough of it these days.”</p>
<p>I love this line! If there was more humility going around, I think far fewer students would need/expect/feel entitled to attend an Ivy, Stanford, MIT, Top LAC, etc…, and instead could find the school that fits them best rather than the school that <em>they think</em> is the best fit because of the prestige these schools are afforded…These are all wonderful schools, but they are not a fit for everyone - even many of our best and brightest!</p>
<p>Great little article. I sent it to my S’s AP English teacher to read to his senior class this last week of school when apparently they “have nothing to do” according to my son…who by the way has told his college that he will be a Anthropology or Sociology major…maybe a history major. Uhmmm wonder what he will do with that? As a “liberal arts” grad I support him and more power to him!</p>
<p>I liked the opening analogy of college to a sleep over (and the experience of eating someone else’s mother’s tuna sandwich on weird bread) with grades, but actually thought the final point about humility was something of a nonsequitur.</p>
<p>I agree with mamenu. Especially since there are so many high school kids who have crap self-esteem and simply make up for it by faking what would come off as a lack of humility. Young people experience their lack of knowledge about the world all the time. It’s frightening! It’s not like it’s surprising to us that we don’t know everything, no matter what we act like.</p>
<p>Interesting article, still, I tend to shy away from articles that present themselves as nonfiction, but use the phrase, “People say…”<br>
Also, I’m not in the camp that says humility & confidence are mutually exclusive; infact, I’d say that’s quite an appealing couple of traits to find in one person. Just my humble 
opinion.</p>
<p>Cheers, love your son’s B story; we’ve taken a similar tact w/ our kids, but it can be scarry sometimes. Still, it seems to be the best course & the learning curve is so satisfying!</p>
<p>Andi, agree w/ you on the value of languages. I really hate to see colleges drop this requirement. Many companies may not hire you because you’re fluent in spanish, but if you apply for a position for which you’re qualified & you’re fluent in a 2nd lang, you’ve just upped your chances considerably.</p>